Unlike other contemporary western artists, Mr. Wieghorst actually lived the scenes he
renders with such insight. Cowboy, horse cavalryman, ranch hand and friend of the Indians, he roamed the West during its transition fromopen
range to the modern world. He knows, first hand, the sights and people that are brought to life with such a graceful blend of impressionistic
skill and authenticity.
Recognized as the "Dean of Western Painters", Wieghorst's work is often compared with that of Remington and Russel, and his paintings hang in
the great public and private collections of western art.
Because of Mr. Wieghorst's popularity among collectors and art investors alike, a select number of his paintings are offered as limited edition lithographs.
Olaf Wieghorst (1899-1988) was born in Viborg, Denmark, and became one of the premier interpreters of the American West.
Wieghorst specialized in horses of the West and was known for as an illustrator and sculptor. Wieghorst was the son of a display artist and
photograph retoucher who became an engraver. He was educated in the Copenhagen public schools. Interest in horses developed while he apprenticed
in a store and on a farm so he began painting in 1916. While working as a sailor in 1918, he jumped ship in New York City where he enlisted in the
U. S. Cavalry for a duty on the Mexican border. During his three years of military service as a horseshoer, he learned rodeoing and trick riding.
He was mustered out in Arizona, finding work as a ranch hand on the Quarter Circle 2C Ranch whose brand became Wieghorst's insignia. In 1923, he
returned to New York City, graduating from the Police Academy in 1925. Assigned to the Police Show Team of the Mounted Division, Wieghorst began to
paint in his spare time. In 1940, he found an agent for his paintings which immediately sold them as calendar art and as Western illlustrations.
By 1942, he was receiving commissions for horse portraits and bronzes. In 1944, Wieghorst retired from the Police Department, settling in El Cajon,
California in 1945. By 1955, he had a waiting list of buyers. "I try to paint the little natural things, the way a horse turns his tail to the wind
on cold nights, the way he flattens his ears in the rain, seasonal changes in the coat of a horse, and psychology of his behavior. Horses have been my life."
-Olafwieghorst.com
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Last Look Back, 1935 |
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